Vehicle entertainment systems featuring display screens that may be viewed by rear-seat passengers are becoming increasingly popular. Typically, the system's display screen is deployed from a stowed position within a ceiling-mounted housing by pivoting the video display screen downwardly into the line of sight of the rear-seat passengers. A video signal is then generated either locally within the ceiling-mounted housing or remotely, for example, from a video source housed within the vehicle's forward console, to thereby drive the deployed screen. An infrared transceiver is often disposed on the screen's ceiling-mounted housing to transmit audio signals from the audio source to one or more infrared-receiving headsets and, further, to receive control signals for the screen and/or video source from a rear-occupant-operated remote control unit.
Moreover, such overhead to video display screens are typically pivoted to downwardly about only a single horizontal, cross-vehicle axis, such that screen viewing is optimized only for a single vehicle occupant positioned along the vehicle centerline while further requiring rear seat occupants to look up at the deployed display screen. Further, the typical inability to reposition the deployed display screen about a vertical axis often results in the distraction of a rear seat occupant who is not otherwise watching the video program.
Still further, known ceiling-mounted vehicle entertainment systems sacrifice available occupant headroom, particularly when the video display screen is lowered into the deployed position. Such systems are, therefore, typically utilized in vehicles having a significant amount of available headroom, such as sport utility vehicles and minivans, rather than in vehicles having minimal or low headroom, such as sedans and coupes.
Accordingly, what is needed is a stowable, in-vehicle entertainment system that overcomes the aforesaid deficiencies of the prior art.